Lawrence Wright: A Profile

Lawrence Wright (born August 2, 1947) is a distinguished American writer, journalist, and playwright. A long-time staff writer for The New Yorker, Wright has built a prolific career spanning investigative journalism, non-fiction books, screenwriting, and theater.

Early Life and Education

Born in Oklahoma and raised in Texas, Wright graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas. He later attended Tulane University and spent significant time in Egypt, where he taught English at the American University in Cairo and earned a Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics. These early international experiences would later inform his deep interest in global politics and culture.

Literary and Investigative Career

Wright is perhaps best known for his 2006 masterpiece, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. The book, which provides a comprehensive look at the rise of Al-Qaeda, won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. His investigative rigor is also evident in his 2013 book Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, which examined the history and controversies surrounding the Church of Scientology.

Selected Works and Projects

Beyond his non-fiction, Wright has contributed to various media formats:

• Screenwriting: Co-wrote the 1998 film The Siege.
• Documentaries: Collaborated with Alex Gibney on projects like My Trip to Al-Qaeda and the Going Clear documentary.
• Fiction: Published the pandemic-themed thriller The End of October in 2020.
• Theater: Authored the play Cleo, which explores the tumultuous production of the film Cleopatra.